Floor mop with single use paper mopping element

ABSTRACT

A floor mop having a handle with a fixed wide mouth jaw and a registering secondary wide mouth jaw pivoted thereto and spring urged thereagainst provides a clamping configuration for a single use paper mop element useable therewith. The leading edge of the fixed wide mouth jaw provides appropriate engagement with the single use paper mop element so that it can be moved in a mopping motion thereby.

United States Patent [191 Whittaker 1 1 Feb. 4, 1975 1 FLOOR MOP WITH SINGLE USE PAPER MOPPING ELEMENT [76] Inventor: Richard E. Whittaker, 302 S.

Croton Ave., New Castle, Pa. 16101 22 Filed: July 23,1973

21 App1.No.:382,081

[52] U.S. Cl. 15/228, 15/150 [51] Int. Cl. A471 13/24, A471 13/46 [58] Field of Search 15/115, 148,150, 151,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1873 McComb 15/150 UX 4/1928 Terpenning 15/150 3/1954 Bruger 15/150 X 3,056,989 10/1962 Murphy 15/231 3,101,500 8/1963 Paolantonio 15/118 3,115,657 12/1963 Kikas 15/150 3,496,616 2/1970 Vazquez 15/150 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,442,143 5/1966 France 15/231 295,345 3/1954 Switzerland... 15/150 186,812 9/1956 Austria 15/148 784,686 10/1957 Great Britain 15/150 1,220,500 1/1960 France 15/150 Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Webster B. Harpman [57] ABSTRACT A floor mop having a handle with a fixed wide mouth jaw and a registering secondary wide mouth jaw pivoted thereto and spring urged thereagainst provides a clamping configuration for a single use paper mop element useable therewith. The leading edge of the fixed wide mouth jaw provides appropriate engagement with the single use paper mop element so that it can be moved in a mopping motion thereby.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FLOOR MOP WITH SINGLE USE PAPER MOPPING ELEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to floor mops in which a mopping element is secured to the end of an elongated handle so that it can be manipulated thereby.

2. Description of the Prior Art The floor mops of the prior art have included various devices mounted on handles by which various mopping elements were secured to the handle so that they could be moved about thereby. The devices include wire frames secured to the mopping element and the elements include so-called string mops and cloth mops.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A floor mop with a single use paper element is disclosed wherein wide mouth clamping jaws are provided with configurations to clampingly engage a single use paper mop element as for example in a square or rectangular sheet with the leading edge of the upper one of the wide mouth clamping jaws having a configuration transversely thereof engaging a relatively wide transverse area of the single use paper element so that the same can be held against a surface to be cleaned thereby.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective elevation of a floor mop embodying the present invention with broken lines-illustrating a single use paper mopping element held thereby.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the floor mop with parts broken away and broken lines illustrate the single use paper element and,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation with parts broken away of the floor mop with broken lines illustrating the positioning of the single use paper mop element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the form of the invention chosen for illustration the floor mop and single use paper element disclosed herein consists of an elongated handle having a fixed wide mouth jaw or jaw member 11 affixed to one end thereof. The wide mouth jaw l 1 has a longitudinally extending groove or channel 12 in its lower surface extending transversely to the axis of the handle as best seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings and the forward edge 13 of the jaw 11 is widened to form a projecting or downturned mop engaging flange with the bottom most portion or lower edge thereof being arcuate and preferably provided with a plurality of closely spaced ribs 14.

As illustrated in FIG. I of the drawings, this configuration of the fixed jaw 11 of the mop enables the same to be engaged against a suitable area of a single use paper mop element 15 as illustrated in broken lines in the drawings. In order that the single use paper mop element 15 can be retained in operative engagement to the lower forward edge 13 of the fixed jaw 11, a pivoted wide mouth jaw or jaw member 16 is securedby pivots 17 to the fixed jaw 11 inwardly from the forward edge thereof and a coil spring 18 is positionedbetween an extension 19 of the fixed wide mouth jaw 16 and the handle 10, the arrangement being such that the exten sion 19 forms a convenient secondary handle that may be grasped by the hand of the user and moved toward the handle 10 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 of the drawings when the pivoted jaw 16 is moved to an open position so as to remove and replace the single use paper mop element 15.

Still referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings it will be seen that the forward edge of the pivoted wide mouth jaw 16 is upturned to form a lip or upturned flange 20 so that extends longitudinally thereof and is parallel to flange 13 and enages the groove 12 in the fixed wide mouth jaw 11 so that one edge of a single use paper mop element 15 can be clampingly held thereby.

By referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that when the single use paper mop element 15 is so positioned, it will be supported continuously transversely with one edge thereof engaged between the wide mouth jaws 11 and 16 of the mop with the major portion of its area positioned forwardly of the mop, to the left as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. In such position the single use paper mop element 15 can be dipped into a container of cleaning solution and positioned on a floor and pushed and rubbed back and forth in a cleaning action by the mop. A paper mop element has a sufficient stiffness to move back and forth in a somewhat corrugated shape as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, and the widened forward edge 13 with its arcuate flange like lower surface with the transverse ribs 14 thereon will engage a sufficient transverse portion of the mop element to retain the desired positioning and provide a relatively wide pressure point for a scrubbing action with the single use paper mop element 15.

The paper mop element 15 is a heavy duty, relatively thick paper product which is inexpensive and expendible after a single use. It has sufficient strength to enable it to be used as a mopping element in the presence of a cleaning solution such as water and a detergent and sufficient resistance to abrasion to enable it to perform satisfactorily. In combination with the mop and the fixed and movable wide mouth jaws 11 and 16 of the present invention the single use paper mop element 15 forms an advantageous and highly desirable wet mop.

-Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and one such modification would provide the wide forward edge 13 of the fixed wide mouth jaw 11 as sufficiently resilient to enable it to conform to minor irregularities in the floor surface over which the paper mop element 15 was being pushed.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A floor mop and a single use paper mop element therefor, said mop comprising an elongate handle, a mop clamping element on one end of the handle, said clamping element including a first jaw member fixed to said one endof the handle, said first jaw member having an elongate channel in a bottom surface portion thereof extending transversely relative to the axis of the handle, an elongate, downturned mop engaging flange along a forward edge of said first jaw member at one side of the channel and extending downwardly from said first jaw member and having an arcuate, ribbed lower edge portion, a second jaw member pivotally connected to said one end of said handle for pivotal movement thereof relative to said first jaw member and having an upturned elongate flange along a forward edge thereof substantially parallel with said downturned flange and movable toward and away from said first jaw member and registerable with said channel for clamping engagement with a mop element held between said firt and second jaw members, said downturned flange on said first jaw member extending downwardly beyond said upturned flange on the second jaw member and into close proximity with a floor surface when the handle is disposed with its axis at an angle to the plane of the floor surface, and a paper mop element clamped at a transverse portion thereof between the upturned flange and the channel and extending beneath the arcuate lower edge of said downturned flange, whereby the point of clamping of the mop element is spaced upwardly from the floor surface and thus spaced from the area of contact of the mop element with water and the like, and said arcuate lower edge of said downward flange pressing said mop element against the floor surface in various angular positions of the handle relative to the floor.

2. A floor mop as in claim 1, wherein said downturned flange is perpendicular to the axis of the mop handle, and the lower edge thereof is forwardly curved and enlarged to define an arcuate area of engagement with the paper mop element.

3. A floor mop as in claim 2, wherein said second jaw member has a handle thereon opposite the pivotal connection of the second jaw member with the mop handle from said upturned flange, and a spring means engaged between the jaw handle and mop handle urging the upturned flange into the channel. 

1. A floor mop and a single use paper mop element therefor, said mop comprising an elongate handle, a mop clamping element on one end of the handle, said clamping element including a first jaw member fixed to said one end of the handle, said first jaw member having an elongate channel in a bottom surface portion thereof extending transversely relative to the axis of the handle, an elongate, downturned mop engaging flange along a forward edge of said first jaw member at one side of the channel and extending downwardly from said first jaw member and having an arcuate, ribbed lower edge portion, a second jaw member pivotally connected to said one end of said handle for pivotal movement thereof relative to said first jaw member and having an upturned elongate flange along a forward edge thereof substantially parallel with said downturned flange and movable toward and away from said first jaw member and registerable with said channel for clamping engagement with a mop element held between said firt and second jaw members, said downturned flange on said first jaw member extending downwardly beyond said upturned fLange on the second jaw member and into close proximity with a floor surface when the handle is disposed with its axis at an angle to the plane of the floor surface, and a paper mop element clamped at a transverse portion thereof between the upturned flange and the channel and extending beneath the arcuate lower edge of said downturned flange, whereby the point of clamping of the mop element is spaced upwardly from the floor surface and thus spaced from the area of contact of the mop element with water and the like, and said arcuate lower edge of said downward flange pressing said mop element against the floor surface in various angular positions of the handle relative to the floor.
 2. A floor mop as in claim 1, wherein said downturned flange is perpendicular to the axis of the mop handle, and the lower edge thereof is forwardly curved and enlarged to define an arcuate area of engagement with the paper mop element.
 3. A floor mop as in claim 2, wherein said second jaw member has a handle thereon opposite the pivotal connection of the second jaw member with the mop handle from said upturned flange, and a spring means engaged between the jaw handle and mop handle urging the upturned flange into the channel. 